Peru mines hit by nationwide mining strike by By Dana Ford and Teresa Cespedes, Reuters July 1st, 2008 |
LIMA (Reuters) - Workers at several big mines in Peru went on
strike Monday and joined a nationwide walkout, hoping to pressure Congress
to pass a bill that would give them a greater share of profits from
sky-high metals prices. The strike, which pushed global copper prices to a two-month
high of $8,620 per tonne, will test President Alan Garcia at a time he is
losing sway in Congress. He has tried to persuade legislators to approve
the labor law, but has so far failed. Laborers downed tools at some big mines, but reported for work at
others in Peru, the world's leading silver producer and second-largest
copper and zinc miner. "Our demands are just and urgently needed, necessary for the mining
sector," said Luis Castillo, head of Peru's largest federation of mining
unions. Mineral exports from Peru have helped fuel a six-year economic boom,
but mine workers say they are not getting a fair share of the boom. President Alan Garcia is facing demands to spread the wealth to workers
and the poor, or risk losing support for his free-market policies at a time
when left-wing parties are eyeing elections in 2011. MINES SLOWED Workers were on strike at the Ilo smelter and Cuajone mine of Southern
Copper
(nyse:
PCU -
news
-
people
), one of the world's largest copper producers, union
leader Arnaldo Oviedo said. But company officer Alberto Giles said
production was barely affected and temporary workers were being used. Laborers also walked out at Antamina, Peru's biggest copper-zinc pit,
owned by BHP Billiton
(nyse:
BBL -
news
-
people
) and Xstrata
(other-otc:
XSRAF.PK -
news
-
people
) . "All operations are stopped at Antamina," union leader Francisco Marino
told Reuters. Miners struck the Pierina mine of Canada's Barrick Gold
(nyse:
ABX -
news
-
people
)
, a union leaders said, though a company official said the
mine was operating normally. Both said work at Barrick's larger Lagunas
Norte mine, which relies on temporary workers, was not affected. Workers also failed to show up for work at the silver-zinc mine of
Volcan's Andaychagua, and unions at other Volcan mines could
join the walkout later this week. Buenaventura said the strike was underway at
Uchucchacua, one of Peru's largest silver mines, but that production was
not yet impacted. It said work continued normally at its other mines. "Uchucchacua is affected by the strike," Buenaventura's finance chief
Carlos Galvez told Reuters. The union at Freeport-McMoran's Cerro Verde mine said workers
would likely decide on Wednesday to go on strike after a walkout earlier
this month. A union leader at Doe Run Peru said workers could vote to go on
strike this week. Shougang Hierro Peru said it was partially hit by the strike,
though a planned walkout had yet to begin at tin producer Minsur
. CONGRESS, DEMANDS The Federation of Peruvian Mining Workers wants Congress to approve a
law to eliminate caps on profit sharing so workers can benefit more from
record-high metals prices. Two similar nationwide strikes in Peru since May 2007 reduced output
and boosted international metals prices, along with recent walkouts in
Mexico and Chile. The federation delayed the start of its strike twice this year to give
Congress the chance to discuss the profit-sharing bill and to give unions
more time to organize the protest. Miners are also asking the government to change rules for early
retirement, give workers the right to enroll in state-run pension funds,
and reduce the workday to eight hours.
(Additional reporting by Terry Wade and Marco Aquino;
editing by John Picinich) |